Improvement in shoes



T. BOWLING. Shoes.

No.'198,005. Patented Dec. 11,1877.

R; Pno'ro-mummuen, WASHINGTON. n. c

"UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS DOWLING, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA.

IMPROVEMENTUIN SHOES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 198,005, dated December 11, 1877; application filed September 13, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS DowLINe, a

resident of the city of New Orleans, parish of Orleans, and State of Louisiana,ha\ 'e invented a certain new an d useful Improvement in Shoes 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a thickness of material where most needed to resist wear-viz., the toe-cap and quarter or heel.

My invention dispenses entirely with the ordinary seams for securing the upper sections together, the said sections being connected by overlapping the edges thereof, and by stitch-'- ing the same together, the edges and lines of stitching aforesaid starting at intersecting points in the vamp and quarter, and deflecting to the sides thereof asthey are carried downward. I p V In order that my invention may be fully understood, attention is called to the accompanying drawing, on which Figure 1 represents one-half of an upper as cut by my improved pattern. Fig. 2 represents the front of my improved shoe, and Fig. 3 the rear portion thereof.

My invention consists in forming theuppers in two pieces, AB, each with a front and rear extension, as shownat c d, the lower edge of the latter prolonged to a sufficient length to reach, when folded back, from the perpendicular line of its base 0 f to a point a little forward of the ankle -joint of the wearer. The upper edge of the aforesaid extension d starts from the line 6 f at a height a little above the anklejoint, from which it is curved outward to the point of extension g. One of the halves or sections, B, of the upper is provided at its rear, from h, where the extension starts, to its upper edge, with a lap, i, which is designed to be stitched to the rear of the other section,

as at z" in Fig. 3, thus obviating the objectionterminating in an acute angle, the upper edge of which forms a straight line, while its forward edge is provided with an outward curve to suit the toe or forward portion of the sole.

In joining the forward part of the uppers the extension of the one is lapped over that of the other, and the two secured together by stitching along their edges, as at z z. The tongue is afterward secured to the vamp in the ordinary way, and the upper thus completed secured to a sole by any known means, such as sewing, pegging, &c.

From the above description it is evident that a shoe constructed in this manner will give more comfort to the feet; that the pieces, being secured together by two or more diverging lines of stitching, are less liable to separate; and that, byreason of a double thickness of material being given to those parts most liable to wear, a shoe constructed as above described will last for a much longer period than will any other description of which I have any knowledge.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

A shoe-upper composed of sections A and B, made in single pieces, each provided with extensions 0 and d, as described, and for the p'urpose speclfied.

In testimony whereofI have hereunto signed my name. I

THOMAS BOWLING. In presence oi J. CONNOR, J. N. MiiLLER. 

